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28 | Genesis 2:5

5 Now no shrub had yet ap peared on the earth a and no plant had yet sprung up , h for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth i and there was no one to work the ground , 6 but streams b came up from the earth and wa tered the whole sur face of the ground . 7 Then the Lord God formed a man c from the dust j of the ground k and breathed into his nos trils the breath l of life , m and the man be came a liv ing be ing . n

8 Now the Lord God had planted a gar den in the east , in Eden ; o and there he put the man he had formed . 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleas ing to the eye and good for food . In the mid dle of the gar den were the tree of life p and the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil . q

10 A river wa ter ing the gar den flowed from Eden ; from there it was sep a rated into four headwaters . 11 The name of the first is the Pi shon ; it winds through the en tire land of Havi lah , where there is gold . 12 ( The gold of that land is good ; ar o matic resin d and onyx are also there .) 13 The name of the sec ond river is the Gi hon ; it winds through the en tire land of Cush . e 14 The name of the third river is the Ti gris ; r it runs along the east side of Ashur . And the fourth river is the Eu phra tes .

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Gar den of Eden to work it and take care of it . 16 And the Lord God com manded the man , “ You are free to eat from any tree in the gar den ; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil , for when you eat from it you will cer tainly die .” s

18 The Lord God said , “ It is not good for the man to be alone . I will make a helper suitable for him .” t

2:5 h Ge 1:11 i Ps 65:9‐10

2:7 j Ge 3:19 k Ps 103:14 l Job 33:4 m Ac 17:25

n 1Co 15:45 *

2:8 o Ge 3:23 , ​24 ; Isa 51:3

2:9 p Ge 3:22 , ​24 ; Rev 2:7 ; 22:2 , ​14 , ​19 q Eze 47:12

2:14 r Da 10:4

2:17 s Dt 30:15 , ​19 ; Ro 5:12 ; 6:23 ; Jas 1:15

2:18 t 1Co 11:9

genealogy . The repetitive style of the seven days resembles the repetitive style of the genealogies . Thus , the story begins with the beginning of creation and God ’ s word ( 1:1 – 4 ), which connects it with all the family histories through Genesis . The word of God that created the world continues in each generation and remains the same word down to the present . Lord . Translates the Hebrew name Yahweh , the personal and covenant name of God (“ Jehovah ” in the ASV ). The Greek term for “ Lord ” translates this name in the earliest Greek translation of the OT . The meaning of Yahweh is unknown , but it sounds like a form of the verb “ to be , become ” ( see Exod 3:14 and note ). God . ʾĕlōhîm , a title for deity ( see note on 1:1 ) and the name of God used up to this point in Genesis . In ch . 1 , ʾĕlōhîm emphasizes God ’ s power and majesty as the Creator of the universe . The rest of Genesis retains that title but adds God ’ s personal name . “ Lord ” reflects the changed tone , which becomes more personal and is concerned with God ’ s relationship with the man and woman . the earth and the heavens . This reverses the order of “ the heavens and the earth ” as found in the beginning of the verse ( see also 1:1 ; 2:1 ). It forms a “ mirror ” in Hebrew poetry in which the elements between the two references become important . The two phrases repeat the same idea in the fashion of a poetic couplet : “ when they were created , / when the Lord God made .” The first line uses “ created ,” the special verb applied only to God and appropriately emphasizing the cosmic creation of ch . 1 ( where it occurs three times ; it does not appear at all in the rest of chs . 2 – 4 ). The second line focuses on God ’ s personal role in his relation to people , which ch . 2 emphasizes . 2:5 no shrub . . . no plant . Plants , essential for the life of animals and people ( 1:29 – 30 ), are not present because rain and humans are absent . This resembles ch . 1 , which also begins with the absence of life and the material to sustain it ( 1:2 ). 2:6 streams . God provides water to create the food .

2:7 man . . . ground . . . life . . . living . Not only does the Hebrew for “ man ” ( ʾādām ) sound like the Hebrew for “ ground ” ( ʾădāmâ ), but the Hebrew for “ life ” ( ḥayyîm ) sounds like the Hebrew for “ living ” ( ḥayyâ ). This identifies the two stages and components that construct the human person : the dirt of creation and the breath of God . The man is between the Lord God and the created world ( Ps 8:4 – 8 ); he is a ruler , yet he is under authority ( Gen 1:26 – 28 ). 2:8 – 9 God creates a home for the man . 2:8 garden . A place for plants and thus food and work ( v . 5 ). the east . The first of many hints in this chapter that the garden , as a sacred place where people meet with God , foreshadows the tabernacle and the Jerusalem temple , which both face eastward . Eden . Often thought to mean paradise , it may mean well-watered , abundant in streams . there he put the man . God takes the initiative with the man and guides him throughout the chapter . 2:9 the tree of life . This appears again in Genesis only in 3:22 , just before the couple are banished from Eden , and it recurs in Rev 2:7 ; 22:2,14,19 , where it heals all who come to it . the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . This forms the center for the one command that the Lord God gives to the first couple ( v . 17 ). “ Good ” and “ evil ” represent moral and ethical categories . God designed this tree to teach the man and woman the difference between right and wrong , but first they must learn this by obeying what he has commanded . 2:10 – 14 This section describes how much water was available in Eden and names the connected rivers . The Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers are the best known . The name “ Gihon ” was also given to the underground spring beneath Jerusalem . It means “ gusher ” and could refer to another stream with this characteristic . “ Cush ” in the Bible is often connected with Africa but here may refer to an area in the Zagros Mountains east of the Tigris River , and thus east of Ashur , the name for the kingdom of Assyria . The Pishon River and land of Havilah are not otherwise known but may describe parts of central Saudi Arabia where gold has been located as well as a prehistoric riverbed that can be traced to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates at the head of the Persian Gulf . This may be the site of Eden , but it is not so easy to understand how the water flows from it ( rather than into it ). These descriptions also look forward to another place where God meets his people : the temple in Jerusalem with its great “ Sea ” that holds the water in front of it ( 1 Kgs 7:23 – 44 ), with the Gishon spring beneath it , and with much gold and precious stones , such as onyx , within it ( 1 Chr 29:2 ). 2:15 to work it and take care of it . Similar verbs describe the role of the priests and Levites in the tabernacle and temple ( e . g ., Num 3:7 – 8 ; 8:26 ). These verbs , however , can also be translated “ serve ” and “ guard .” The man has a priestly role to protect the garden sanctuary ( Gen 1:26 ). When he fails to do this and is expelled from Eden , the task of guarding the garden is given to cherubim ( 3:24 ). 2:16 – 17 You are free to eat from any tree . . . but . In the Lord God ’ s first words to the man in ch . 2 , he graciously supplies abundant food and the freedom to eat it . As is customary in Hebrew speech , this general offer is followed by a specific exception : “ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil .” The single forbidden tree contrasts with the many that are not forbidden . The reason for the prohibition is not explained . you will certainly die . This warning introduces death for the first time . If creation of life was “ very good ” ( 1:31 ) because it obeyed God perfectly , then the man ’ s disobedience can bring death , the opposite of the life that God has given so freely . 2:18 not good . The opposite of the good creation of ch . 1 . helper . The Lord God seeks a “ helper ” for the man so that he is not alone . The Hebrew term ( but as a verb ) is found later in 49:25 , where God “ helps ” ( is a helper for ) Israel .